Nearly 65% of adults in the Arab region remain excluded from formal financial systems, according to a new report by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA). The Annual SDG Review 2025 paints a sobering picture of persistent financial exclusion that is undermining the region’s ability …
Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia may be okay with a little overlap between the National Population Register exercise and UIDAI's aadhar project, but an earlier note prepared by the Plan Panel had pegged the cost of this duplication at Rs 15,000 crore. Based on the premise that increased …
Extension of metro up to Nedumbassery under consideration Executing the Kochi Metro Rail project as a Centre-State joint venture scheme has numerous advantages over implementing it as a public-private partnership project. Elaborating on the disadvantages of including private stakeholders in the construction, experts in the mass-rapid transportation sector, who did …
The Heavy Industries Ministry is pushing hard to ensure that the award of equipment contracts by developers of large power projects is done mandatorily through a bidding process, rather than the current practice of developers placing orders directly on the vendors of their choice. Speaking to reporters here, Heavy Industries …
For the 12th Plan Period (2012-17), the Government may fix power capacity addition target at around 1,00,000 megawatt. This is the Power Ministry's proposal to the Planning Commission. “The final call would be taken by the National Development Council. It may be between 90,000 MW and 1,00,000 MW,” Member Planning …
AGARTALA: The Planning Commission (PC) has given an investment clearance of Rs 14.89 crore for Rudrasagar Drainage Development Scheme of Tripura to be implemented by next one year, restoring the lost glory of only water palace of eastern India-Neermahal. Human activities around the Rudrasagar Lake in the past 50 years …
The government may fix the power capacity addition target at around 100,000 MW for the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2012-2017). The Power Ministry had proposed a capacity addition target of 100,000 MW to the Planning Commission, which is likely to accept the proposal. "Final call would be taken by National …
A high-level committee on rail modernisation chaired by Sam Pitroda, advisor to the prime minister, has recommended that the Railways hike passenger fares one time by 25 per cent and index all fares to inflation to raise Rs 60,000 crore next year. In a presentation to the Planning Commission ahead …
Pulok Chatterjee to head panel deadline set for specific targets The promoters of private power companies, including Ratan Tata and Anil Ambani, met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday and sought solutions to problems like acute fuel shortage, coal prices, delays in green clearances and funding. Singh assured them a …
India needs to have a proper set of protocols and a credible regulatory mechanism to address issues related to genetically modified crops, according to Abhijit Sen, member of the Planning Commission. Mr Sen was addressing a gathering at the inaugural day of the two-day international seminar on ‘Biotechnology in Indian …
Gandhinagar: Closely following the draft Gujarat Water Policy 2011 sent to the chief minister’s office (CMO) for finalization, a fresh high-level document, prepared for the Planning Commission of India, has proposed major water reforms in rural Gujarat. This document proposes introducing availability of water 24x7 through water meters at the …
A high-level committee of the Planning Commission has held Coal India (CIL) responsible for failing to supply adequate coal to steel plants and has called for de-merging all unallocated coking coal blocks and carve out a new entity exclusively to meet the needs of the steel industry. This unprecedented demand …
In an about turn from his previous proposal for an additional excise on diesel cars, Dr Kirit Parikh, has said that the annual road tax system should instead be brought back with a “differential tax” for diesel vehicles. This would also affect existing diesel cars on the road, which will …
The Planning Commission began its intervention in the Rs.1,840-crore Kuttanad Package on Friday with a review visit and observed that the progress so far has not been on expected lines and that the process has to be accelerated. Planning Commission Member Secretary Sudha Pillai, who headed a team inspecting the …
This analysis of the Government of India’s National Policy on Biofuels argues that while the policy of ethanol blending in petrol is in the right direction, it is fraught with several problems which are rendering the approach ineffective. The most critical ones are the lack of sugar cane for producing …
The draft report of Planning Commission’s Steering Committee on Health for the 12th Five-Year Plan advocates free medicines for all in public health facilities. This is in line with the recommendation of the High Level Expert Group (HLEG) on Universal Health Coverage (UHC) that submitted its report a couple of …
Dhubri, Jan. 5: A Rs 14-crore project to protect villages along downstream Koimari to Moisa upto Chilarai bridge under Agomoni revenue circle of Dhubri district has been sanctioned by the Centre, while another anti-erosion project worth Rs 2 crore to protect Gou Jhapusabari border village has been sanctioned by the …
SHILLONG: The Planning Commission has approved the inter-state bus terminus (ISBT) and inter-state truck terminus (ISTT) projects of the State Government. Disclosing this here on Tuesday, Transport Minister AT Mondal said the budget of the two projects has been fixed at Rs 48.31 crore and Rs 26 crore respectively. The …
Minister for Forests C.P. Yogeshwar on Tuesday has said that the State Government will oppose the recommendation made by a Central committee to the Planning Commission to allow iron ore mining in the Western Ghats in Karnataka. A section of the media had reported that a committee, headed by Steel …
With just 16.57 per cent of the total allocation under the special Bundelkhand package spent so far in Uttar Pradesh and 21.70 per cent in Madhya Pradesh over two years, the Planning Commission is all set to extend the package. “We have discussed this matter informally. In principle, the Planning …
Urges Montek to consider changes for effective implementation of projects in LWE-affected areas With an eye to ensure that the government’s development efforts are effective in the Left Wing extremistaffected areas, the rural development ministry is pushing to make block the basic unit and involve elected representatives in the rolling …
